Saturday, November 26, 2022

Today's Witches

Just started reading the latest monthly edition of Smithsonian. One of the Prologue articles touched on the history of witch trials in the Catalonia area of Spain, and a fairly recent decision by its parliament to officially apologize to the victims of the witch trials which occurred there over the course of 300 years.

While Catalonia was not unique in its participation in torturing and killing witches in the 14th through 17th centuries, it's lack of proximity to the central authority in Madrid, the power of local feudal lords, and widespread illiteracy, combined to create its renown as the center of witchcraft trials in Europe. As a result, over 700 witches were condemned to die beginning in 1424 when Catalonia enacted the first law prohibiting witchcraft.

Today, of course, witches are not tortured and killed. But then again, those (mostly) women who were murdered as witches, were not  witches at all. They were either people who were used as scapegoats to explain bad events of the day, or people who were different from most, which again helped justify their being treated without compassion. Back then, it was easy to convince the uneducated that people like that were expendable, especially when the institutions and powerful of the day were the ones telling them so.

Today, we see similar efforts by those who seek power and influence to marginalize certain segments of our society. Specifically, we are in the middle of another concerted effort by some religious and political groups to rally their believers into thinking that the LGBTQ community is to blame for all of society's ills. 

I wrote a few months ago about this topic, what I called Different VS Special. In it, I discussed how there are two ways to perceive people who are not like ourselves. As different, which creates a negative connotation, or as special, which evokes a softer, perhaps even desirable perception.


I recently spent some time with an acquaintance whom I hadn't seen for at least 20 years. During that time, we broached a number of subjects, sometimes agreeing, sometimes not, but always remaining civil. One particular topic in which we disagreed, was related to the LGBTQ community. 

Now, this person is not one of those evangelicals who demonstrate their Christianity by telling us who God hates. Still, while he understood the necessity of allowing gay people to marry, understood how our marriage laws benefited individuals and society meaning that laws against gay marriage were certainly discriminatory, he also felt that the "gay agenda" was being forced upon him, and that it had gone too far. 

In other words, a very fine man who, in general, follows the spirit of his religion, yet believes that gay people do not deserve the same rights as straight people. When I countered that I believe the vast majority of gay people, especially men, were created that way by the very God he worshiped, he only grudgingly seemed to accept that position. In his mind, acting on their urges, was clearly forbidden by his holy book, and, while they might have been born gay, they were forbidden to have sex with someone of the same gender. 

I didn't pursue this anymore, but later, I regretted not asking him why God would create people with sexual desires that they would be  forbidden to exercise? And, if true, wouldn't that make them special? Special to the point that we, as a society, would do our best to support them, and show them special deference? 

It wasn't that long ago that people born with below average mental capability were hidden away, at best, sterilized and institutionalized, at worst. Even now, there are societal barriers for people with mental challenges to overcome, but at least there are not media pundits telling their followers that granting them the same rights to pursue life and liberty are what is ruining America, or has gone too far.

It is always easy to blame those that are different for the problems of the day, especially when those listening prefer not to look in the mirror. Whether it be witches, or the gay community, or people who worship a different god, power hungry people, those without real solutions to society's ills, can always find a segment to dehumanize and blame. 

I believe that my friend will be welcomed into heaven despite the blindness he displays towards those born with a different sexual orientation. His goodness, his good acts outweigh his bad, and, in the end, isn't that the math we will all face and answer to? Still, if someone as good as he continues to believe that people born with a different sexual preference are condemned by god if they act on their desires, is it any wonder that witches were burned at the stake hundreds of years ago? 

The negative acts perpetuated by good people.

Many people complain today that there are those among us who try to evaluate those from our country's history using morals of today. And, to an extent, I agree, that we should not negatively judge those founding fathers who owned slaves while penning our great documents of freedom. I believe it is possible to carry two thoughts in our heads at once and that despite those original signers being products of their times, despite their biases, they achieved greatness. It seems to me that believing that people can accomplish and/or inspire historic accomplishments, and who do so even though they are flawed, allows all of us to strive towards our own goals, knowing it doesn't require divine intervention or extraordinary genetics or unlimited resources.

Perhaps though, a better retort would be to ask, why do we judge people today based on the standards of 2000 years ago? When someone says their holy book condemns homosexuality, well, that certainly doesn't surprise me since most of those tomes were written by men centuries ago. 

When Jesus was on earth, there were leprosy colonies. At the time, and for centuries afterward, victims were isolated from regular society, not just out of fear of contracting leprosy but because most of society was ignorant of the causes of the disease, many concluded that victims of leprosy were moral degenerates being punished by God. Jesus walked among them to illustrate that his God loved all men, and that all men were worthy of salvation. While I may be musing a bit outside the lines here, I imagine that a Jesus walking among us today would demonstrate the same anti-establishment behavior by supporting those being marginalized due to their own special way of expressing their love, and who they love. 

Perhaps it is time for an even newer Testament, one that recognizes that condemning people in the name of a god, is as out of date as burning witches and calling leprosy a divine punishment. At the least, maybe we should tone down the arrogance that is reflected when we speak, judge, condemn and praise in the name of the creator.

Saturday, November 12, 2022

Mid-Term Elections

While all the results are not yet in as we still don't know if the GOP will control just the House or Senate as well, I thought I would offer some viewpoints anyway.

First, the elections are over. YAH! Although I am still receiving donation requests on my phone for the Georgia Senate runoff (from both sides), the endless stream of TV ads is behind us. In general, another disgraceful political campaign session featuring countless exaggerations and outright falsehoods about the candidates, the majority of which ended with the statement that the ad was not paid for by the candidate, but some other advocacy group. 

I know I am in the majority of Americans who support an end to this part of our campaign cycle. I also feel certain that most voters believe we need to reduce the influence of money in our election process. More money should not equate to more political influence, but clearly it is so today. While the following link only touches on possible solutions to this issue, it does reflect an overall plan which may help.

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-next-greatest-generation.html

Needless to say, requiring all campaigns to spend the same amount of money as provided through our taxes, reducing the time frame for candidates to run their media campaigns (perhaps no more than 6 months), and, most importantly, mandating that election ads address policy, to put it bluntly, no more negative ads, might be a good place to start.

Now, to this election cycle.

The last few elections have produced results not in line with the polls, and this one is doing the same, although with advantage going to the Dems instead of the GOP. What should have been, was predicted by most to be, a red wave, turned into much more a ripple than a wave, and in some areas not even red.

For instance in Pennsylvania where I live, the Democrats retained the governor's house, while also flipping the Senate seat, meaning that both PA Senators are from the Democratic party. Also, the state house, is one flipped seat away from producing a Dem controlled House of Representatives for the first time in 12 years. As of now, 12 seats changed from GOP to Dem in this election with a few to still be decided. In the district I live in, a 12 term GOP incumbent was defeated. Truly, a blue wave for the democrats.

To be more specific, the new governor of Pennsylvania, while certainly no charismatic star won by over 750,000 votes. And the new senator who suffered a stroke earlier this year, won his race by over 230,000 votes. What I am saying is that, in part, they won, not because they were outstanding candidates, but because the alternative was far less palatable. 

In the Senate race, the GOP candidate was not even from Pennsylvania, having just purchased a house in the state in the past year. His main qualification was that he was a TV medical personality, endorsed by that most famous TV personality, the former president. And, being rich, could afford to spend millions of dollars in an attempt to buy the office.  Even worse, the GOP candidate for Governor offered very little policy in his ads, other than Restore America. He openly stated that the pro choice perspective was utter nonsense, and that gay marriage should not be legal. Many prominent Pennsylvania republicans did not campaign for him. As a result, over 230,000 GOP voters who cast a ballot for the Senate candidate did not vote for him.

Clearly, in PA, the quality of the candidates mattered, and I am proud of all who voted in this election, but especially those independents, and voters on both sides of the aisle who made their choice based on that trait. 

And then there is the abortion issue. Both GOP candidates referenced above were pro-choice to the point where abortion was not just a difficult decision by a woman, her doctor and her family but murder. As was the case in a number of other states, including Kentucky and Montana, and Kansas earlier in the year, the decision by the Supreme Court to throw the abortion issue galvanized young and female voters to go to the polls to vote against ballot questions that would have made abortion illegal or in the case of Vermont and Michigan, voted for adding reproductive freedom to the state's constitution.  

For Pennsylvanians in particular who knew that with a GOP controlled legislature and governor, abortion would become illegal, and despite inflation being at a 40 year high, it appears that losing a fundamental right, the right to make basic decisions about one's own body, family, and future, was far more important than high prices, which while obviously extremely annoying, will pass in time. 

In effect, the Supreme Court decision to roll back Roe Vs Wade, helped spur the national red ripple we have just experienced, and the blue wave in Pennsylvania. Here is a link to my thank you to those justices which I posted in August. 

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2022/08/thank-you-supreme-court-justices.html

And then there is the Democracy issue. Among other things said by the Pennsylvania GOP candidate who lost the election for governor was that he would have the power to decertify the votes from any voting machine he wanted, sort of like a mini-king. Now, we all know he wouldn't be targeting votes cast in the rural areas of PA, just the cities, especially Philadelphia, where all the "cheating" is going on. The fact that most of those voters are Black, is just a coincidence, I am sure. Along with the other GOP candidates who openly stated that if they didn't win, it must have been rigged (where have we heard that before?), it has become increasingly more obvious that a sizable portion of the GOP, politicians and electorate, are not interested in winning elections, just in saying they won. 

Again, however, congratulations to the electorate for sending a clear message that telling us you believe our elections are rigged is not the path to being elected. This was especially important in a few secretary of state races, elections that no one ever paid attention to until that certain ex-president tried to pressure the one in Georgia to "find me 11,780 votes". Voters in those states told candidates who vowed to restrict voting access, and to decide for themselves which votes would count to, well, go to he**. Or perhaps to Russia.

Which brings us to the last reason why the GOP under performed in this election cycle. Donald J Trump. Someone, one might say, who is now a 3 time loser, having lost the House in the 2018 election when the democratic party flipped 40 seats to take control of that body, then in 2020, when the Dems won the White House and, the Senate where the VP casts the deciding vote when there is a 50-50 split.

And now, even though the GOP will regain control of the House, it seems pretty clear it is a GOP victory, not a Trump victory. For proof we can look at the results in Georgia where Kemp who Trump did not endorse in the primary, received 200,000 more votes than the Senate candidate, Walker whom Trump did endorse. Fully 10% of the republicans who voted for Kemp did not vote for Walker, a tribute to both candidate quality and the waning influence of the ex-president. 

I have always said that the GOP establishment and powerful conservatives have used Trump as much as he used them, especially in the areas of lowering taxes for the rich and packing the judicial system with Heritage Foundation acolytes. In the former, well, perhaps enough American voters will see that trickle down economics is a myth promulgated by the rich who care more for themselves than America, so that when proposals to require those with more to pay more, those candidates will win more than they lose. Unfortunately, the latter item, a judiciary that is beholden to capitalism even when it harms our economy and our country, will take a bit longer to fix.

In the meantime, let's hope that enough of the GOP will wake up to the fact that Trump is an albatross around their electoral necks. The reality is, we need 2 strong parties to help balance the policies that we need to move forward, and to to help bridge the partisan gap that has been exacerbated by the cult of Trump. If not now, perhaps a 4th loss in 2024 might do it. 

 

  



Thursday, November 3, 2022

The Reunion

                                      The Reunion 


Mike tossed a light jacket into the passenger side of the car, placed his phone into the raised holder in his console, entered the address of the restaurant, and started the car. The day of the friend's reunion was finally here!

Many of the best times of Mike's life had occurred in the company of the friends he was about to see, yet he had lost touch with many of them over the years. But after the death of two dear acquaintances from other stages of his life, he made the decision to attempt to contact as many of his friends from that time, the late 70's/early 80's, especially Sheri, Madeline (Lean), Brianna (Bri), Greg, Brian, Samantha (Sam), Tom, Jack and Julie. 

It had taken a month or so for Mike to reconnect with all of those dearest of friends from his early twenties. A few he had been in contact with lately, a few he found quickly through contacts he had retained. A couple he internet stalked, tapping informational leads into a google search, clicking on possibilities until the correct version of the name he was seeking appeared. 

Eventually, Mike spoke to them all, except Sheri who was difficult to track down even though it became clear that, not only had two of the friends seen her in the past 5 or 6 years, but that they lived within a mile of her apartment. Finally, after leaving 2 text messages on possible phone numbers, both of which were responded to with polite but firm, no, I am not Sheri, he decided to stop by her place without notice. A bold move to say the least, and one which Sheri repeatedly said, after the fact, "who does that?". But it worked, not because she answered the door, but because she called him that evening, responding to the phone number he wrote on a piece of junk mail he found in her mailbox.

During that conversation, Sheri used that same phrase of who does that when she recalled how Mike had ridden his bicycle from their home turf to her new place which was over 300 miles away. Mike allowed her that memory, knowing that, while he had made that journey just to see her, he had actually hitch hiked, a mode of long- distance transportation he had used a number of times in those days. 

Mike's drive to the restaurant was about 45 minutes, but all highway travel, so it was easy for him to fall into a mostly pleasant reverie, punctuated by one extremely sad memory. During many of the conversations that Mike had with his friends, he often referred to his desire to avoid their own collective Big Chill moment. He became determined, almost obsessively so, to make sure that their first reunion was not at a funeral service. Yet, just about a month before today, some of them had, in fact, saw each other for the first time at a life celebration for Brian, who had passed away suddenly. For the umpteenth time, Mike shook his head, wiped a tear from his eye, and thought of Brian. 

Mike met many of these friends at McDonalds. He couldn't recall who he met first, or even who he actually worked with and who he met after his brief 6 month employment, but he remembered many parking lot meetings, many picnics, and gatherings which featured McDonalds food. It was a glorious, youthful time of late night and weekend parties, laughter, drives in The Harvester, hanging out in the Little Room and, at the various places that were lived in separate from parents. 

Not to mention the college visitation parties!

Jack was the oldest of the group, so the first to go off to college. He was one of the funniest people Mike ever met, yet also the smartest, a physics major. There was not a comment that Jack could not twist into a joke. One of his favorites was "that's what she said last night". It was good, not only for sexual jokes, but pretty much for any situation. When someone received a joint that was at the end of its life, and said "It's so small I can barely get my lips on it", well, you know what Jack said!

Brianna was the next to go off to college, even though Mike, Greg and Brian were older. As it turned out, she was the last of the group to attend college in those days, although many of his friends, including himself, eventually spent some of their mid to late 20's in a higher education setting. 

Bri went to a school within spitting distance of the Three Mile Island nuclear generating station. At the time of the radiation leak, Mike, Lean and Jack drove to TMI in direct contradiction of the governor's advice, and common sense. Their "nuclear weekend" was as good as any, even though Bri had fled the college (smart girl), and the 3 friends were forced to stay in her dorm room with her roommate.

Brianna lost her father during those youthful days.  Mike wrote her a poem called "I lost my Dad" in an attempt to console her and commemorate her father. That gesture, and the time he spent with her during those difficult times had cemented their relationship, marked the point where their friendship, while still platonic, entered a new level of closeness.

And then there were the trips to Bloomsburg College, where Mike's best friend was enrolled. The parties were epic, sleep non-existent. Without going into details, there were some after hour visits to the local hospital which did not have locks on their outside fences behind which were stored nitrous oxide tanks. Laughing gas. If you can envision a party where, on one side there are a few people standing in line at a keg, cup or glass in hand, while on the other side of the room there is a nitrous tank, with a warm towel wrapped around the bottom, with a few people standing in line, hefty bag in hand, well, that was the scene in Bloomsburg, off campus housing, of course.

Mike pulled into the restaurant parking lot, drove around the back and parked. He was about 15 minutes early, in hopes of getting an outside table for the group, but as he walked from his car, Brianna and Julie pulled up as well. Mike gave them both a hug.

Julie lived out of state, so was planning to stay overnight at Bri's house. She was one of the first friends who had made the decision to "grow up", which in their case meant less partying, and who had returned to college to get her degree, which led to a very successful working career. Mike loved all his female friends from that time, but was most impressed with Julie's accomplishments, which he told her during their few phone conversations. She was an example of a true American success story, having overcome many obstacles with persistence and faith.

Madelene (Lean) was the next to arrive. She was the youngest of the girls of the group, yet had curiously spent much of that time dating Jack, the oldest. Mike always considered her a younger sister, and, despite the fact that she was injured in a car accident in which he was driving, she thought of him as someone she could count on for anything. They even lived together, briefly, after her breakup with Jack, during the fall semester of Mike's last year of college when he was student teaching in the area. 

Mike had also hitch hiked to see Lean when she moved out of state, the last of his long trips dependent on other's vehicles, this one over 1500 miles. She was living with Jack, so it was not just a reunion of two but three. Even though Mike struggled to get home by the thumb, eventually taking a bus instead, that was a visit that would always stay in his memory as one of the best, with two of his best friends. 

Once seated, Brianna whipped out the pictures she brought for the first four arrivals to review. They were amazing. Almost every picture evoked a memory or many memories, in addition to the common comments, "look how thin, and look how young we look". Not all of the pictures were of people from the main group of friends, which reminded all of them how many individuals flitted in and out of their lives during those years, and in the years since. 

Greg and Sam arrived next, having met in the parking lot. They joined their friends in ordering a drink, and scanning through the pictures. 

Two of the pictures showed Greg with his eventual wife. He was the first of the group to be married, Mike being honored to have been the best man. Greg proudly spoke of his children and grandchildren, he and Lean being the only two to be able to brag about being a grandparent. While Mike was sketchy on who he worked with at McDonalds, he did remember that he and Greg worked the 6 AM to 2 PM shift during his tenure there. They laughed, remembering the manager who primed his workers with robins eggs to help handle the breakfast and lunch rushes. That guy used to slide around the counter into the backroom in his shiny shoes to check on their progress, then go sliding back to check on the counter staff. He was truly a beneficiary of the helpers he provided them.

Greg was the main driver of the group, the owner of the Harvester, an almost truck like vehicle with a front bench seat, and a removable back bench seat that was often jettisoned to accommodate the friends when they parked in various driveways, playing all sorts of card games that involved drinking. One such game, named Driveway, involved a bit of math, and drinking. Mike went on to use that game during his brief teaching career, sans drinking, of course. Mike wondered if he had ever thanked Greg for the countless times that he drove the group from one great adventure to another, whether it was just around the neighborhood or to Philly or DC or the innumerable rock concerts they attended in those times.

Mike's favorite memory of Greg was the morning Greg slipped on a pickle while at work, landing with one arm on the grill. Mike didn't see the fall, but noticed Greg shooting special sauce on the Big Macs in a haphazard way.  When pressed, Greg showed him the ugly burn on his arm. Even though it was just McDonalds, Greg was as loyal an employee, and a friend, as they come. But oh, the damage a wayward pickle can do!

Whereas Mike loved all his female friends, Sam was the one he spent the most time with, the woman who introduced him to the world of love. He regretted most having lost touch with her, although they had reconnected a few years ago when he heard about her husband's illness. They were communicating regularly now, and, while he still could experience the feelings he had those many years ago, he also knew that a renewed friendship was so much more rewarding, so much more meaningful. When she smiled at him across the table, he didn't need the pictures to remind him how her smile first attracted him to her, and how, no matter how we change with age, a smile is as good as anything to remind one of youth and happiness.     

Tom was the last to arrive. Mike had seen him for the first time in 15 years, at least, at Brian's life celebration event. Tom had forgotten to change out of his suit when he left work, so when he came up to Mike and thanked him for attending, Mike thought he was the funeral guy, being the only man in a suit. This was especially humorous, since it was Tom who had told everyone in no uncertain terms that there should be no ties or suits at the event, per Brian's instruction.

Tom was the youngest of the group, the true baby-faced one. He had also gone on to college later in life. It struck Mike for the first time how odd it was that so many of this group had attended college later in life than the standard, right after high school. It also struck Mike that the math said that all those parties that Tom, and Lean as well, took part in were before that magic age of 21. Tom was the only one of the group to volunteer for the military, having spent a summer away at boot camp. Mike recalled how surprised he had been at this decision, wondered if it was a reaction to the group sometimes being a bit derisive towards Tom's age, as if Tom wanted to prove he was on par with his older friends by one upping them by serving. He vaguely remembered speaking with Brian about this, all those years ago, but couldn't remember what conclusions they had drawn.

Mike's favorite memory of Tom, while not necessarily complimentary, was during their trip to DC. Tom had bumped into a display of the Constitution, almost knocking it out of its sacred case. The group reminded Tom of this clumsy encounter often, and mercilessly in the following weeks. I guess that is what you do to your baby siblings, heaping friendly abuse on them to show them your love.

Just about on cue, a picture landed in front of Mike, a picture of a young, vibrant, smiling Brian, shirtless on a summer day, at one of their many softball games. When Mike first started contacting everyone about a reunion, no one was as enthusiastic as Brian. He wanted it to be at his house, a weekend affair. As a precursor to the reunion, Mike had organized a smaller reunion at Brian's with just himself, Greg and Lean, although, on the actual day, Lean had to cancel.  

When Mike arrived and knocked on the door, Brian called out "door's open, come in". Mike entered a darkened room, Brian sitting with his back to the door, a blanket covering his lap. Mike sat in an adjacent chair and looked at his friend, trying not to convey any shock in his face. Brian did not look well, not just older but also not healthy. Later, when he went to the bathroom, Mike understood why he hadn't answered the door when he activated the lift mechanism on his chair to get up, then used a walker to navigate out of sight to the bathroom. Worse, while some of their conversation was upbeat, dotted with laughter about the old days, some of it was regretful about decisions made, and not made. Brian had been the life of the party, the go to guy for fun ideas and activities. Now, he seemed a shell of himself.

Later, outside, when he and Greg left, he asked Greg about Brian's health, and how, such a vibrant, young man had become so sickly, and despondent. Greg was hesitant to talk about his friend, someone whom he had stayed in touch with over the years, unlike Mike. But gradually the story emerged, a story of difficult relationships, especially that all important relationship we need to have with our self. 

As the empty food containers and bottles mounted, the friends' conversations toggled from memories to present day life to memories again. Despite the distance of time, their friendships glowed through. At one point, their server, a young girl probably the same age as they had been, asked Mike for details about why they were together. She seemed to get it, seemed impressed by their desire to see each other again after all that time. Mike wondered if it would inspire her to do something similar sometime in her future, and then laughed to himself wondering what a reunion would be like in 40 years, and how it would be affected by 40 years of technological advances.

When it was time to go, everyone seemed torn between the requirements of their lives, the restrictions of their age, and their desire to reenact, if only a little, their shared adventures. They hugged and kissed, and promised each other another reunion in the much nearer future than the time that had passed before today's.

Mike walked with Sam and Tom to their cars, said one last goodbye, then strolled to his vehicle. On the way home, he laughed at the memory of the picture they had taken, the 7 of them around the table, smiling broadly. He also fought off some tears, sad that Brian had not been there with them, would never be there with them again, although he assumed it was Brian, looking down from above who had produced such a beautiful fall day that enabled them to sit outside.

Mike also reflected on why he had allowed these special people to float out of his life. Sure, everyone matured at different rates, some eschewing the party life for adulthood, and certainly marriage and family obligations can interfere with old friendships. But his two oldest friends whom he still regularly saw, predated this group, so it wasn't merely the length of time that got in the way. 

Do we lose touch to more easily separate the phases of our life, compartmentalizing the party days from the early marriage days from the family oriented days on purpose? And if so, is that to make it easier to know who we are depending on what stage we are in? Or to make it clear that "those" days are past, almost as if any bad or irresponsible behavior on our part can be dismissed as just an ex-version of ourselves, not a reflection of who we are today?

Mike always defended "today's kids" when people his age complained that the youth of today don't want to work, are selfish, expect too much, etc. While he certainly didn't behave today as he did at 20 or 22, it didn't mean he wasn't just as selfish then, living for the moment, not worried about the future or the consequences of his actions. Isn't that what youth is about, having fun, living for now, making mistakes and beginning that long, never ending process of understanding who one is, and wants to be? Didn't every generation think the next lazy? And wasn't it really a product of a jealousy that they were not young anymore? He recalled one his favorite Socrates quotes, over 2 thousand years old.

“The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.”

Mike pulled into his driveway, turned off the car, and sat in the dark for a few moments. It had been a wonderful evening, ending too soon as great times seem to do. Sharing memories with and without inspiration from the pictures that Bri brought, especially those with Brian, caused a wave of sadness to cascade over and through Mike. Such glorious times, such beautiful friends. He wiped his eyes, slightly shook his head one more time in regret over Brian's missing their reunion, and renewed his determination to make sure their next gathering was soon, and as joyful as today's.

_________________________________________________________

This is the 2nd of two stories about Mike. In the first, for which I have provided a link below, Mike spends an afternoon at a funeral. During the drive to and from, he reminisces about this particular friend and the friend he had lost just a month earlier, and then vows to do more to reconnect with his past friends.

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2022/03/death-and-friends.html